Though she’s shining bright as an entrepreneur, Dr. Sonja Ebron also has a distinguished career in research and teaching with a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and expertise in utilities and artificial intelligence. As a professor, she’s taught classes in these subjects but keeps jumping out of academia to take swings in the entrepreneurial arena, with her latest venture, cofounded with her wife, Debra Slone, being Courtoom5.
Why They Made the Worthy 100: With her new venture, Ebron is looking to employ software-as-a-service (SaaS) and artificial intelligence technology to bolster weaknesses in the U.S. litigation system. Her reasoning is fairly simple: Many Americans can’t afford to have a lawyer, and those who decide to represent themselves because of that tend to lose. That’s where Courtroom5 steps in. The service uses web and AI technology to match clients with access to legal data, document templates, detailed case law, and even analyses of proposed claims and defenses. It’s not free but it’s definitely cheaper than hiring an attorney. In just a few years since its founding, Courtroom5 and Ebron have already helped thousands with legal troubles. In 2021 the company was selected as one of five to get funding from the global venture capitalist group ShEO.
